Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ray Roussel

"Ray first marched in the Richmond Hilltoppers and then moved on to the
Golden Monarchs.

The first time I met him at an Optimists Drum Corps rehearsal was in
late September, 1966. Ray and his brother Dennis had joined us after watching
our 1966 national championship performance in Montreal. He judged that
performance as the finest he had ever seen by a Canadian Drum Corps. The first
clear sign of Ray’s intelligence.

Ray quickly became the leader and star of the baritone section and led
the way in hard work, consistent effort and desire to be the best. No one
worked harder than Ray in 1969 and he was awarded Corpsman of the Year.
After drum corps Ray moved west on his way to being able to “squash a beret
onto my misshapen head and take over a small central American nation via
military coup”…..he got as far as Vancouver.

We wrote to each other, a lot. A letter or note or email from Ray was
a glorious thing full of incomprehensible words and outrageously funny ideas.
Ray was a completely self-taught man. He taught himself how to play an
instrument, he taught himself how to write and arrange music and the baritone
quartet he put together for individual championships in 1967, achieved new
heights in small ensemble competition and was talked about for years. He
taught himself how to neatly copy music and was in high demand as a copyist.
He taught himself how to write by reading the dictionary and writing a journal
every damn day. He taught himself about advertising and when he tired of that,
he saw a need to understand computers so he taught himself the technical side
of that maze, enough so that he made a living as a technical writer. To Ray,
the Optimists Drum Corps was his foundation, his joy, a place from which he
launched his assault on the world. There is not one human being along the way
that ever had an unkind word to say about him. At every stage of his life he
was happy and contented. And all who knew him, loved him. Keep on smiling
Ray." —Vern Johansson

“Damn. One of the finest young men I ever knew. Ray was a joy to
march beside, work with and know. I'll always remember him as a true gentleman
with a sharp wit and wonderful sense of humour. A very special guy has been
taken from us.” — Greg Oxenham